“ All members of the Government, particularly those indicted in corruption cases, are blackmailing the population, with the aim of causing fear and panic,” said the secretary general of Juntos Pelo Povo (JPP), Élvio Sousa, this Sunday, in Paul do Mar.
During an action to contact the population in the municipality of Calheta, the party leader and parliamentary leader informed the people about the strong possibility of early elections being held, showing concern in reassuring people, but he did so without ever deviating from the focus of the political situation in which Madeira has found itself since the beginning of the year, and making a point of indicating those responsible for the instability: “the Regional Government, Miguel Albuquerque and the PSD”.
“The other day we heard Pedro Ramos, the defendant, who after the May elections called the people of Madeira ‘abnormal, incompetent and scoundrels’, suspected of having used money from the people of Madeira to benefit his friend’s company by almost 1 million euros, saying that parties like the JPP would be judged in the next elections”, declared Élvio Sousa.
“But in truth, this government thinks that the Madeirans still believe their words, which I do not believe. The ones who will soon be tried will be Albuquerque and Pedro Ramos for having lied to the Madeirans and for having abandoned Madeira during the fires in August this year, and for having asked for help too late. The people will not forget those who abandoned them, especially at a difficult time,” he pointed out.
The JPP notes, in this regard, that those who never abandoned the populations, and were permanently surrounded by fire, were the firefighters, “even when on vacation or on a day off, men and women who are being blackmailed by Pedro Ramos and Albuquerque.”
Élvio Sousa is caustic about the recent statements made by the regional secretary for Health and Civil Protection, who stated that, with a budget based on twelfths, the updating of firefighters’ salaries and the new financing model for Humanitarian Firefighter Associations would be at risk.
“The salaries of firefighters from humanitarian associations will be fully met, as the new financing model for Humanitarian Firefighter Associations is already in force, with amendments to the program contracts with these Associations having been signed on December 10, implying the payment of new salary amounts with retroactive payments”, he said.
As the JPP leader explains, “for the year 2025, according to the budget framework law, 5.8 million in funding is reserved for the Humanitarian Firefighter Associations, a situation that will not harm the payment of peacekeepers in any way, as management in twelfths will only be done in an initial phase.”